eep thy spear
off my back."

"I promise," said Glumm, whose curiosity was aroused.

"It is a sad thing when a man looks sweet and a maid looks sour, but
there is a worse thing; that is when the maid _feels_ sour. Thou lovest
Ada--"

"Hold!" cried Glumm, turning fiercely on his companion, "and let not thy
pert tongue dare to speak of such things, else will I show thee that
there are other things besides spears to lay across thy shoulders."

"Now art thou truly Glumm the Gruff," cried Alric, laughing, as he
leaped to the other side of a mass of fallen rock; "but if thy humour
changes not, I will show thee that I am not named Lightfoot for nothing.
Come, don't fume and fret there like a bear with a headache, but let me
speak, and I warrant me thou wilt be reasonably glad."

"Go on, then, thou incorrigible."

"Very well; but none of thy hard names, friend Glumm, else will I set my
big brother Erling at thee. There now, don't give way again. What a
storm-cloud thou art! Will the knowledge that Ada loves thee as truly
as thou lovest her calm thee down?"

"I see thou hast discovered my secret," said Glumm, looking at his
little friend with a somewhat confused expression, "though how the
knowledge came to thee is past my understanding. Yet as thou art so
clever a warlock I would fain know what ye mean about `Ada's love for
me.' Hadst thou said her hatred, I could have believed thee without
explanation."

"Let us go on, then," said Alric, "for there is nothing to be gained and
only time to be lost by thus talking across a stone."

The path which they followed was broad at that part, and not quite so
rugged, so that Alric could walk alongside of his stout friend as he
related to him the incident that was the means of enlightening him as to
Ada's feelings towards her lover. It was plain from the expression on
the Norseman's face that his soul was rejoiced at the discovery, and he
strode forward at such a pace that the boy was fain to call a halt.

"Thinkest thou that my legs are as long as thine?" he said, stopping and
panting.

Glumm laughed; and the laugh was loud and strong. He would have laughed
at anything just then, for the humour was upon him, and he felt it
difficult to repress a shout at the end of it!

"Come on, Alric, I will go slower. But art thou sure of all this? Hast
not mistaken the words?"

"Mistaken the words!" cried the boy; "why, I tell thee they were as
plain to my ears and my senses